There’s not much nicer in the kitchen than being able to cook with the food that you have grown only metres away!

Our chilli plants have been very productive this summer and these are a couple of the ways I have used them.

Chopped/Minced Chilli – use 1 flat tsp in place of 1 fresh chopped chilli in any recipe.

• 150g chilli
• 2 tbsp white vinegar.

Place whole chillis and vinegar in your processor and process until well chopped. (Speed 6, 10 seconds).

Of course, if you don’t have a processor you can just finely chop by hand and then stir through the vinegar.

Store in small, sterilised glass jars.

Chilli Infused Olive Oil – use in place of regular olive oil in cooking to add a bit of extra bite, or as a dip for some delicious crunchy bread.

• 400ml extra virgin olive oil
• 6 small chillis (mine were the size of my index finger)

Slice chillis lengthways and place in a saucepan with the oil.

Bring to a gentle simmer  (100C, Speed 1, about 4-5 minutes) and then remove from the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Pour into sterilised glass bottles, through a sieve to remove the seeds. Then add the remaining chilli flesh into the bottles and seal.

Enjoy all year ’round 🙂